Letters to the editor can be submitted by sending an email to tuletters@timesunion.com or completing this form. See our guidelines on letters.

Whether you love or hate President Donald Trump’s dramatic alterations to foreign and domestic policies, you have to admit that they’re mind-boggling. In contrast, the predictable coming of spring this year is reassuring: No matter what’s happening in D.C., here come the snowdrops and robins.

Nature, at least, is consistent, right?

These days, not so much. Recently, millions of Americans to the south and west were living in climate emergency zone under a barrage of tornadoes, fires, and floods. This is happening because the air is hotter so it holds more moisture and makes weather more violent and dangerous.

In view of these climate changes, New York in 2019 passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which will gradually replace fossil fuel energy with clean, renewable energy. Two years were devoted to drawing up policies to get New York off fossil fuel combustion. Now the cap and invest plan and the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, among many other initiatives, are ready to be implemented.

But the president’s infatuation with fossil fuels must be contagious because Gov. Kathy Hochul and our legislators are dragging their feet to get gas and oil out of our energy system. As next year’s budget is being determined in Albany, it is up to us citizens to call and write our legislators and urge them to enact the measures we need to keep the planet livable.

Published April 7, 2025

By passing the NY HEAT Act, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature would have the opportunity to score two big wins: lowering our heating bills and moving strongly toward ending our economy’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Our country is living through President Donald Trump’s drastic disruption of our nation’s norms and policies, including imposing costly tariffs and yanking approval for new sources of cheap, clean energy. New Yorkers would appreciate some hope and immediate economic relief. The NY HEAT Act could be that bit of hope and relief.

The Senate has passed this bill twice. What is holding up Hochul and the Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie from getting it across the finish line this year?

Published April 7, 2025

A recently published commentary from Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of the Electric Power Supply Association, tries to scare readers by claiming that the current power grid cannot meet demand without increased investment in natural gas networks ("Energy policies are hitting New Yorkers right in the wallet," March 10).

But the NY HEAT Act would unlock billions of dollars in existing funding for clean energy solutions such as thermal energy networks and redirect existing funds to pay for modern, energy-efficient electric heating, cooling, and home appliances. The funds generated from the NY HEAT Act and other pending climate legislation would be sufficient to continue the clean energy transition while simultaneously reducing our dependence on climate-threatening fuel sources like natural gas.

Snitchler blames recent rate hikes on the high cost of renewable energy development, but the NY HEAT Act would protect low- and middle-income New Yorkers from rates hiked by capping electricity bills at 6% of income. Specifically, a recent study from NY Renews indicates average savings from the NY HEAT Act would be upwards of $160 a month in the Hudson Valley, $126 in the Mohawk Valley region and $123 in the Capitol Region.

Hochul should not cave to fossil fuel industry lobbyists; instead, she should include the NY HEAT Act in the budget and make New York a leader in the transition to a clean and just energy future.

Published April 7, 2025

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Warmth and integrity are at the heart of Joachim Frank’s commentary, “Science on the chopping block,” March 16. Frank deeply respects science and the benefits of research. He is greatly disturbed by the Trump administration’s systematic slashing of scientific health research. I commiserate, though, my deep concern is our disrupted climate.

President Donald Trump has slashed climate research from a variety of angles. He removed the United States from the Paris Accord, defunded National........

© Times Union